Mark Shield

Mark Shield

Personal information
Full name	Mark Alexander Shield
Born	September 2, 1973 (1973-09-02) (age 38) Australia
Domestic
Years	League	Role
1995–2004	National Soccer League	Referee
2005–2008	A-League	Referee
International
Years	League	Role
1999–2008	FIFA listed	Referee

Mark Shield (born 2 September 1973 in Fortitude Valley, Queensland) is a former Australian Football referee. He most recently refereed in Australia's A-League. He first played soccer for the Innisfail Tigers at the age of six. Not showing much promise as a player, he began refereeing at age 12, and by 16 was officiating adult matches in Townsville. At age 28, he was selected to serve as a referee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was one of 23 referees selected to officiate the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[1] He currently lives in Fortitude Valley, Queensland.[2] Shield announced his retirement from refereeing on 20 September 2008 and he refereed his last game in Round 8 of the 2008/09 A-League season in the match between Queensland Roar and Adelaide United. [3]

2002 World Cup

Shield served as an official at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan. On 10 June 2002 he officiated the 1-1 draw between Belgium and Tunisia. .[4]

2006 World Cup

Shield was selected to referee at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He officiated the Iran-Angola match and the Saudi Arabia-Tunisia match, both in group play.

Shield was also selected as one of the final 12 officials eligible to officiate the final eight matches of the Cup.[5] He was appointed the fourth official to the Portugal-France semi final.

Asian Champions League Final

In late 2006, Shield was appointed to referee the second leg of the AFC Champions League final between Al Karama (Syria) and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (South Korea) was played on Wednesday 8 November at the Khaled Bin Al Waleed Stadium. Jeonbuk Motors won the AFC Champions League after Brazilian striker Ze Carlo's 88th minute header gave them a 3-2 aggregate victory over Al Karama. Al Karama won the second leg of the final 2-1 but the Brazilian's late goal made the difference after the Koreans won the first leg 2-0.

Asian Cup 2007

Shield was appointed with fellow Australian referee Matthew Breeze to referee at the 2007 Asian Cup. Australia was the only country with more than one representative on the panel of referees for the tournament. While at the tournament, he was selected for a number of matches including the final between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, whilst Breeze was selected to referee a semi-final match. Both were fortunate that the Australian team were knocked out in the quarter finals because they would not have been able to referee matches involving or affecting their own country in the latter stages.

Hyundai Club Challenge

Shield received creditable reviews for his performance in the one-off game between Sydney FC and Los Angeles Galaxy at Sydney's Telstra Stadium on 27 November 2007 (the attendance of 80,295 is Australia's largest for a club game). In an exhibition match won 5-3 by the home team, Shield sent off LA Galaxy defender Kevin Harmse and also booked Beckham for a retaliatory lunge at Sydney's Robbie Middleby.

FIFA Club World Cup 2007

Shield officiated in the quarter final between Étoile Sportive du Sahel and Pachuca in front of 34,934 fans at the National Stadium, Tokyo. He was also named as the fourth official in the final between Boca Juniors and A.C. Milan.

National Soccer League (NSL)

Shield made his professional debut just a month after his 22nd birthday, refereeing the Sydney United vs West Adelaide match in the old National Soccer League on 8 October 1995 at the Sydney United Sports Centre. He refereed 3 NSL Grand Finals.^[1]

A-League

Mark Shield was on the A-League Referees Panel at the start of the 2008/09 A-League season.

On 19 September 2008, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that he was considering retirement. He did not referee in Round 4 of the 2008/09 A-League season, nor was he scheduled to referee in Round 5 that weekend. He refereed his final match in the Round 8 match between Queensland Roar and Adelaide United.^[2] Shield Refereed the first three A-League Finals before retiring, refereeing a total of six consecutive domestic league finals in Australia.^[3]

A-League Matches:^[4]

• 2005/2006 Season: 19 Matches (Including: 2 Pre-season; Major Semi-Final 2nd Leg; Final: Sydney FC - Central Coast Mariners)
• 2006/2007 Season: 19 Matches (Including: 1 Pre-season; Major Semi-Final 2nd Leg; Final: Melbourne Victory - Adelaide United)
• 2007/2008 Season: 17 Matches (Including: Minor Semi-Final (both legs); Final: Central Coast Mariners - Newcastle Jets)
• 2008/2009 Season: 6 Matches (Including: 1 Pre-season. Shields Last A-League match was played in Round 8)

External links

• FIFA profile
• Profile on ratetheref.net

Notes

1. ^ Ref's Room
2. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/a-league/sydney-put-on-reds-alert/2008/09/18/1221331058797.html
3. ^ Ref's Room
4. ^ Ultimate A-League

Persondata
Name	Shield, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 September 1973
Place of birth	Australia
Date of death
Place of death